National Girls Collaborative Project

Youth With Disabilities

K-12 Education

AccessSTEM Promising Practiceshttp://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/promising.htmlThe Alliance for Students with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (AccessSTEM) database includes articles that highlight promising practices for increasing the participation of individuals with disabilities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

An Accommodation Modelhttp://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Programs/accommodation.htmlWith appropriate accommodations, students with disabilities can be challenged to reach the same high academic standards set for students without disabilities. DO-IT's Accommodation Model and Student Abilities Profile are tools that can help teachers work with students to create an optimum learning environment.

DO-IT Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technologyhttp://www.washington.edu/doit/The international DO-IT Center promotes the success of individuals with disabilities and the use of computer and networking technologies to increase their independence, productivity, and participation in education and careers.

Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Projecthttp://www.uw.edu.doit/Brochures/Program/design.htmlThis website provides a checklist for making projects welcoming, accessible, and usable, including guidelines and examples for plannng, information resources and technology, project facilities, and staff.

Explore It After School! Technology and Science Program for Students with Visual Impairmentshttp://techbridgegirls.org/assets/files/what/publications/ExploreIt.pdfThis resource guide, created by Techbridge, includes lesson plans for science and technology projects, as well as resources for career exploration to broaden the academic and career options for visually impaired students.

Guideposts for Successhttp://www.ncwd-youth.info/guidepostsDeveloped by National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, this transition framework identifies the five guideposts, or sets of experiences, that all youth need to transition successfully to adulthood. The guideposts can help steer families, institutions, and youth through the transition processes.

Kids As Self Advocates (KASA)http://www.fvkasa.org/index.phpKASA is a national, grassroots project created by youth with disabilities. The site offers membership to a monthly listserv for information, 60 tip sheets, and guides written for youth, by youth.

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)http://ncld.org/NCLD provides essential information to parents, professionals and individuals with learning disabilities, promotes research and programs to foster effective learning, and advocates for policies to protect and strengthen educational rights and opportunities.

National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET)http://www.ncset.org/default.aspThe National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures.

National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youthhttp://www.ncld-youth.info/index.php?id=01The National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD/Y) serves as a national youth-led information, training, and resource center. NCLD/Y has a four-pronged focus on working on developing leaders, developing the capacity of centers for independent living to serve those leaders, the capacity of the staff working directly with the leaders, and supporting the cadre of youth with disabilities-related organizations.

National Organization on Disability: Start on Success Framework for Transition from School to Workhttp://nod.org/research_publications/start_on_success_framework_for_transition_from_school_to_work/Start on Success (SOS) has more than doubled the odds that participating high-school students with disabilities will go on to further education or employment. These results are achieved by combining three major elements: 1) Education and Programming that Breaks the Mold, 2)Transition Services that Work Together in a Coordinated Way, 3) A Business Community Fully Engaged in the Project

National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN)http://www.nyln.org/NYLN is a youth-led organization empowering people with disabilities between the ages of 16- 28 by supporting them in their role as the next generation of leadership in the Disability Rights Movement.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.htmlOSERS supports programs that help educate children and youth with disabilities, provides for the rehabilitation of youth and adults with disabilities and supports research to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Paving the Way to Work: A Guide to Career-Focused Mentoring for Youth with Disabilitieshttp://www.ncwd-youth.info/paving-the-way-to-workDeveloped by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, this guide focuses on career-focused mentoring of youth and youth development outcomes for youth with disabilities.

Plotting the Course for Success: An Individualized Mentoring Plan for Youth with Disabilitieshttp://www.ncld-youth.info/Downloads/mentor_guide.pdfDeveloped by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, this document guides mentors and mentees through a number of activities to help them think about youth's developmental needs and goals, and what activities, experiences, and connections can help youth achieve those goals. It also enables mentors to express how they would like to see themselves grow in the mentor-mentee relationship.

Supporting Youth with Special Needs in Out-of-School Timehttp://niost.org/pdf/afterschoolmatters/asm_2012_16_fall/ASM_2012_16_fall_4.pdfThis article presents finding from a survey of Out-of-School Time administrators and staff, showing that professional development can influence providers' willingness and ability to include children with special needs in their programs. Recommendations for supporting OST programs' efforts to serve youth with disabilities are also provided.

Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technologywww.uw.edu/doit/Video/index.php?vid=33 This video presentation provides an overview of adaptive technology and computer applications for people with disabilities. High school and college students with a wide variety of disabilities share their experiences using computers and demonstrate the technology used. This video can be used to train teachers, computer lab staff, students with disabilities and their advocates about how everyone can operate computers.

AccessComputing Student Resourceshttp://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/student.htmlOnline community for students with disabilities interested in pursuing degrees in computer science as well as those who wish to mentor them; newsletters describing events and activities of the AccessComputing project; videos featuring students and professionals with disabilities, including veterans, in computing fields.

College for Students with Disabilities: A Guide for Students, Families, and Educatorshttps://online.maryville.edu/disabilities-guide/The guide offers students with disabilities and their families information on resources to help with their college education. There are many pathways to achieve independence through higher education, and this document gives an idea of what to expect in researching options.

Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilitieshttp://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.htmlThis pamphlet, provided by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U. S. Department of Education, explains the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities who are preparing to attend postsecondary schools. It explains the obligations of a postsecondary school to provide academic adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services, to ensure the school does not discriminate on the basis of disability.

Career Information

Ability in the Workplace: A Conversation with Jenny Lay-Flurriehttp://www.ngcproject.org/sites/default/files/media/diversity_web.movIn this six minute video, Jenny shares her passion for her IT career, information about her disability, the accomodations she uses in the workplace, and the importance of the NGCP in helping promote the awareness of and discussions around disability inclusion.

AccessSTEM Team Applicationhttp://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/team_app.htmlLink to an on-line community of peers and professionals, paid internships, other work experiences, research opportunities, and other activities for transitioning to college, graduate school, and employment.

Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD)http://www.cosdonline.org/A national professional association comprised of more than 600 colleges and universities and over 500 major national employers, COSD's mission is to improve the employment rate of college students and recent graduates with disabilities on a national basis.

Emerging Leaders Internship Programhttp://www.emerging-leaders.com/Emerging Leaders is a highly competitive program that places undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities in fulfilling summer internships and provides them with leadership development opportunities.

ENTRY POINT!http://ehrweb.aaas.org/entrypoint/A program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), ENTRY POINT! offers outstanding internship opportunities for students with apparent and non-apparent disabilities in science, engineering, mathematics and computer science.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencieshttp://askjan.org/cgi-win/typequery.exe?902Vocational rehabilitation (VR), a state-supported division of services, assists individuals with disabilities who are pursuing meaningful careers. VR assists those individuals to secure gainful employment commensurate with their abilities and capabilities through local job searches and awareness of self-employment and telecommuting opportunities.